Restoration

The old shaman’s eyes were closed. To his left, a bear, to his right, a bobcat. Both animals moved slightly with anxious energy. The fire between them blazed intensely. The man’s voice had droned for hours, beginning at sunset when he lit the fire. As darkness fell the bear had arrived. Soon after the cat padded in and sat calmly.

Now deep into the night, the man opened his eyes, staring into the flame. He picked up a bowl and held it above his head, the smoke rising with his song. Bear and cat growled low. Their claws raked the earth as though preparing to sprint after prey.

“What was done now be undone.
"Those who were wronged now be made right.”


The bear stood before toward the blaze. The man’s voice grew louder.

“Where a dark heart’s jealousy once cursed a brother,
"Spurned infatuation made a maiden’s beauty appear false,”


The words now came in near shouts as the man’s arms quivered holding the bowl. The great cat’s teeth shined in the firelight as it shrieked its anticipation.

“To lovers kept apart through long years.
"Now restore young flesh and offer new life.”


Turning the bowl over, the man doused the fire with the potion he’d prepared. The flames burst orange and leaped skyward, a fireball engulfed his frail frame. The burning air tore a final word from his lungs.

“Forgive!”


The bear and bobcat howled in unison as the fur fell from their bodies. The fire faded and their cries transformed with their bodies. The flames snuffed out as quickly as they had risen, leaving two forms standing in the moonlight. The youthful man and woman looked at each other and then turned to the ashes beside them and the still smoldering bones of their old acquaintance.